I love the way the writer just sort of plays it off, like oh yeah, by the way, Zenon Konopka ran a goalie in an intrasquad training camp scrimmage. Good times. Here’s a story from the St. Pete Times that explains Konopka’s shenanigans, at least partially. I’m not sure if there’s any valid explanation for running 38-year-old Olaf Kolzig in a scrimmage, but hey, whatever.

If you follow that link to the Lightning camp reports, you can also see the lineup Tampa is bringing to Pittsburgh tomorrow night. Konopka is playing. So are David Koci and Michel Ouellet. Here’s Pittsburgh’s dress list for the game:

Fleury better watch his back when Konopka’s around. Looking at that lineup, you’d have to think the chore of cleaning up Konopka’s mess might fall to Ryan Stone. There aren’t any other midleweights playing.

OK, sorry for burying the lead, but that stuff interested me. On to the cuts.

I was surprised that Caputi and, to a lesser extent, Jeffrey were in the first cuts. I know Caputi was banged up with the hip injury and maybe that had something to do with it, but wouldn’t you want to get a look at him in an NHL exhibition game first?

I was talking to Mike Yeo about that topic today, and he said that because Pittsburgh only has four exhibition games, rather than seven or eight, they have to use them to get ready for the season, not to test out unproven rookies. I guess there’s some merit to that, but it certainly won’t make Caputi feel any better.

It can’t be a surprise that Pierro-Zabotel was sent back to Vancouver either. The kid has potential, great size and good puck skills, but he’s raw and he didn’t assert himself in camp the way he had to. If he comes back next season (or in the Calder Cup playoffs) with some more aggression, he’ll be more effective.

I could babble some more about what happened at today’s scrimmage, but I don’t know, I feel like that gets overdone on the Internets sometimes. So here. I’ll keep it short. Janne Pesonen and Petr Sykora scored pretty goals, Ben Lovejoy had two more assists, Marc-Andre Fleury dove out and pokechecked Sidney Crosby to stop him in the third and decisive round of the shootout. Fleury then rode his stick a la Tiger Williams over toward the corner. Funny.

I’m going to the Pittsburgh-Tampa exhibition game tomorrow night, so if charges are filed against Konopka or something, I’ll be there to cover it.

Here’s a look at the WBS training camp roster, which was released today. I included very basic, brief bits of biographical info for the unfamiliar names. If you know more about any of these guys, just post it in the comments. We’ll take a Wiki approach to this camp roster.

FORWARDSLuca CaputiAaron Clarke — little guy out of Robert Morris; had a respectable 19 goals for Wheeling last yearJean-Michel DaoustBryan Ewing — little guy out of BU, goes by “Boomer,” grew up in WheelingTommy Goebel — little guy out of Ohio State, looked good in rookie camp in PittsburghMatt Grennier — played seven AHL games for Toronto last year; product of Canadian University systemJoey Haddad — the lone rookie camp tryout still wearing black and gold; coming off good year in Cape BretonKevin Harvey — 52 fights in the last two years in CHLDustin JeffreyNick JohnsonMark LetestuAndrew Lord — big guy out of RPINino Musitelli — little guy out of Miami of OhioJonathan Ornelas — little guy from RPIRob Sirianni — Bemidji State grad was point per game guy for ECHL Utah last yearMitch Woods — 26 fights in the IHL last season

DEFENSEMANReid Cashman — played eight AHL games with Toronto last year; signed to AHL contractJonathan D’AversaBrad Farynuk — RPI grad has 36 AHL games to his credit the last two seasons with Syracuse, SpringfieldDoug Krantz — big kid out of CornellCliff Loya — onetime Nailer played in Italy last year; Pittsburgh nativeJordan Morrison — now this is an interesting one; Pittsburgh’s seventh round pick in 2003 draft had a decent camp in 06, but didn’t want to take an ECHL contract and went back to school instead; played four games with ECHL Texas last year; not sure why he’s listed as a defenseman; he was a center in 06;Robert Page — big guy out of Yale; his D partner is named Jimmy PlantElgin Reid — it’s pronounced with a hard G, Ell-Ginn, like Ted Ginn Jr., not like gin and juiceMike Salekin — he was in camp last year; tough kid; 186 PIM in Reading last seasonJeremy Scherlinck — big guy from Ferris State; played two AHL games with Iowa last yearNathan Schwartzbauer — native of Wasilla, AlaskaBrock Sheahan — ND grad already signed to AHL deal

GOALIESAdam Berkhoel — good in Grand Rapids last yearCurtis Darling — good in Wheeling last year

Ben Lovejoy keeps making plays with the puck that someone who has two goals in 77 career AHL games probably shouldn’t make. It’s just a couple plays in a couple of intrasquad scrimmages, so let’s not go overboard or anything, but I’m starting to think he has an offensive side he has really shown yet as a pro. Don’t forget, he did have 41 points in 64 games in his last two years at Dartmouth.

Ryan Stone and Jonathan Filewich didn’t scrimmage and from what I can gather, neither was hurt. That can’t be good news for them. Stone is battling to make the team in Pittsburgh and Filewich is trying like hell to rehabilitate his prospect status. You have to think they’d want as many opportunities to have management eyes on them as possible.

Their loss was Luca Caputi and Aaron Boogaard’s gain. They were both in the scrimmage and looked decent. Caputi went to the net regularly and Boogaard wrecked some guys on the forecheck. That’s what those two guys are paid to do.

T.J. Kemp also got into a scrimmage, replacing Rob Scuderi, who has a hip injury.

I don’t believe Dustin Jeffrey has been in a scrimmage yet, which has to be disappointing for him. After all, he had at least a remote chance — maybe 1 in 100, but a chance nonetheless — of beating out Kris Beech and Jeff Taffe for the fourth-line center job. Not being in the scrimmage makes that harder.

To roy36, I asked Paul Bissonnette about fighting in camp, and he said there is a ban and management seems very serious about enforcing it. There were two occasions today — when Eric Godard got dumped by Hal Gill in front of the net and when Boogaard was drilling people — where a fight probably would have broken out if the ban weren’t in place. Likewise, there was a collision between Matt Cooke and Deryk Engelland in yesterday’s scrimmage that would have ended up with gloves flying in years past.

I’m torn on the issue personally. Fighting in camp serves two purposes. First, it helps sort out the depth chart in the toughness category. When Dennis Bonvie and Ryan VandenBussche squared off in an intrasquad scrimmage a couple years back, they were trying to prove they were tougher than their competition. Second, it’s a good way for young prospects to show management they mean business. Somebody like Caputi or Filewich could get into a fight in camp to prove they’re physical players who are willing to do whatever it takes. But balancing all that is the fact that it’s just kind of dumb for teammates to be punching each other in the face while management smiles and nods. So, like I said, I’m torn.

Finally, like you guys were talking about the other day, here’s a link to video of Bob Backlund’s Harvard step test. Specifically, it’s an interview with Sgt. Slaughter about the test and clips of Backlund doing the test ringside while matches involving The Wild Samoans and George “The Animal” Steele are in progress. If you watch it, it will be the most strange and wonderful eight minutes of your day.

That’s two over the roster limit, of course, so who gets edged out? That’s what we’ll be watching over the next few days.

I always had the impression that Satan was a bad apple. A floater or a malcontent, something like that. But to be honest, I’m not sure why I believe that. Today, he looked great working with Crosby and seemed like a real personable guy while doing interviews after practice. Take him in your fantasy draft. Dupuis isn’t the ideal third wheel on that line, but he’ll work hard and play D while the other two do their thing, I guess.

The first thing I looked for when I arrived at practie today was whether Staal was on the wing or at center. It’s the wing.

That Cooke-Talbot-Fedotenko combo looks like it would be a hassle to play against. I never thought Fedotenko was a top-six forward, to be honest, but I think he can be an effective grinder. And that’s where he’s cast right now.

I wasn’t really buying this whole Pesonen thing until today. I really liked what I saw. He can skate and I like the way he makes up for his lack of size by bouncing off or rolling with hits. He said he would start in Wilkes-Barre if he had to, and that’s certainly a possibility so he can get accustomed to the North American game, but it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if he stuck in Pittsburgh from the start.

Among the players not noted above, I thought Deryk Engelland looked solid today. Joey Mormina’s wingspan is really gigantic. Connor James had a nice day, using his speed and making plays. Paul Bissonnette knocked some people around. It’s apparent that he doesn’t know what he’s doing on the wing, but he’ll figure it out. It’s not like they’re asking him to win a Selke Trophy. They want him to forecheck, cause problems with his physicality and be strong on the wall. He can do that.

First off, a little bit of news. The Penguins announced today which players from rookie camp were invited to NHL camp. Congratulations are in order for Joey Haddad, the sole survivor among free-agent invitees to camp. Guess I’ll keep an eye on him during scrimmages to see if he might be AHL material.

Anyway, J-M Daoust, Tommy Goebel and Elgin Reid were assigned to Wilkes-Barre camp, which begins in about a week. Draft picks Jake Muzzin, Nathan Moon and Patrick Killeen were returned to juniors. Corey Cowick, Jason Legault and Cedric Lalonde-McNichol were released.

Bissonnette is, for the first time, offically listed as forward, for what it’s worth.

Day One of NHL training camp basically goes down like this. Players arrive at one building for physicals, walk across a parking lot to another building for testing, walk back to the first building, then get on a bus and leave. It’s not exciting by any means, but it is an excellent opportunity to get some interviews done, so that’s what I did today.

I focused on Ryan Stone and Jonathan Filewich because this is such an important camp for them. Do or die, really, as it pertains to the Penguins organization. Both reported in excellent condition, Filewich especially. He said he completely revamped his offseason workout program, trying to get leaner and quicker instead of bigger and stronger. Just by appearances, it looks like it worked. Want evidence of Stone’s commitment this summer? He skipped the Calgary Stampede.

The talk of the testing, incidentally, was Deryk Engelland. He had everyone buzzing about his performance on the Wingate test, which you can read about here if you’re into that sort of thing. If you’re not, just know this: He’s a powerful and well-conditioned athlete.

I also talked to Marc-Andre Fleury for a little while, and he was genuinely excited when I told him he was voted onto the WBS 10th anniversary team. Gave a little fist pump. I found it refreshing to see a pro athlete who isn’t cynical yet.

Before I go, if you saw the story the other day about Tim Wallace seeing a bear eat a moose on a golf course over the summer, he mentioned that bears were way more visible in Alaska this summer than at any time in recent memory. Tim Wallace’s dad has proof. He forwarded some photos taken in the Anchorage area that I thought you’d want to see.

Penguins rookies beat Ottawa rookies 3-1 to finish up the Kitchener tournament this afternoon. Casey Pierro-Zabotel and Dustin Jeffrey scored for the second straight game for the Penguins.

Jason Legault also scored. I find him perhaps the most interesting rookie camp free agent invitee. He’s got decent size, he’s right-handed and he scored 22 goals last year in the Q. The first round of cuts is expected any day now. I wonder if Legault will be invited to main camp. Even if he’s not, you’d think he might be open to an invitation to AHL camp in Wilkes-Barre, right?

Luca Caputi and Alex Grant missed the last two games of the tournament with minor injuries. Caputi’s got a hip an Grant got knocked around in a fight on Saturday. The Penguins say they were kept out for precautionary reasons.

For me, I think one of the most interesting developments of the Kitchener tournament was that Aaron Boogaard arrived in ill humor. Read this Maple Leaf blogger’s account of the Florida game. (You might have to scroll down a bit, but it’s there.) Boogaard won two fights, grabbed one guy from behind to prevent him from getting to the bench before pummeling him, slew footed some other dude and picked up at least 34 penalty minutes. This is precisely what Boogaard needed to show — nastiness.

I’m piecing together rookie tournament results from the Internet because I’m not in Kitchener. I’m in Western PA, waiting for NHL camp to start Tuesday/Wednesday.

Today, the Penguins rookies lost 5-2 to Florida. Goals for Casey Pierro-Zabotel and Dustin Jeffrey. Dave Brown in goal.

Saturday, the Pens rookies beat Toronto 5-2. A goal and three assists for Mark Letestu. A goal and two assists for J-M Daoust. Goals for Ben Lovejoy, Joey Haddad and Jonathan D’Aversa. John Curry in goal.

Tomorrow at 2, it’s Pens vs. Ottawa. Tuesday, back in Pittsburgh, it’s physicals and whatnot in preparation for NHL camp. Wednesday, it’s full practices complete with an intrasquad scrimmage. That’s when business will really pick up.

I’ve noticed that there is very little buzz around this rookie camp. No TV cameras, few radio microphones, no full page newspaper spreads. It’s not a big mystery. Two years ago, rookie camp featured Malkin and Staal. Last year, there was Kris Letang. Luca Caputi’s doing a bunch of media, and he’s got the personality to do that sort of thing, but I guess it just doesn’t have the sex appeal of the previous two rookie camps.

But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing of interest going on. For example, I’ve got a story about Tim Wallace, a bear and a moose going in the paper one of these days. Don’t miss it. It’s pretty awesome.

Anyway, after three days of this, I have some better impressions of a few guys.

I’m starting to come around a bit on Keven Veilleux. First off, he looked dynamite around the net in drills today. Quick hands. Second, he worked hard to improve his English over the summer. That doesn’t sound like much — after all, you don’t need to know English to speak hockey – but it shows that he’s serious about making the most he can out of this training camp. It’s hard to imagine a scenario where he doesn’t go back to juniors at the end of camp, but I think more highly of his prospect status now than I did at the end of last season.

I’ve also noticed Mark Letestu looks strong around the net in drills. Making crafty little passes and whatnot. With a lack of centers at the AHL level in the organization, there is an opportunity for him to really show what he’s capable of this year.

I talked to Chuck Fletcher about the center depth and he had a few thoughts. First, he said he’s excited to see what Adam Henrich can do in the middle. Fletcher said that with Nathan Smith gone to Colorado, Henrich might be the big, physical center WBS needs. Fletcher also said he’s really glad Dave Gove re-signed. He said Gove can play all three forward positions on any line he’s asked to and he’s a good influence in the room. I agree. He’s a very valuable and probabl underrated player.

I also asked Fletcher about Casey Pierro-Zabotel, who because he turns 20 in November, could turn pro or go back to juniors at the end of camp. Fletcher said that in order for Pierro-Zabotel to turn pro, he has to prove he could be a regular in WBS this season. A contributor, not a fifth-liner. Pierro-Zabotel has only played one season in major junior, so an extra season in Vancouver wouldn’t be spinning his wheels. It might be beneficial, especially because Fletcher thinks highly of Don Hay, his junior coach in Vancouver.

One otther player who’s stood out to me is Tommy Goebel. He’s a rookie out of Ohio State, no bigger than J-M Daoust, but explosive in the offensive zone. He’s someone to watch going forward.

To nafs, I can’t imagine there’s any live coverage of this rookie tournament. Last year, TSN had daily highlights on its Web site. That’s probably the best you can hope for. And I did talk to Pierro-Zabotel for a little while yesterday. I don’t know exactly when I’ll work the story into the rotation, but the stuff I just blogged about Fletcher is probably the most interesting part of it anyway.

Remember when I was bragging about being the last working hockey beat writer in America at the end of last season? I think I might be one of the first working hockey beat writers at the beginning of this season. Have any other NHL teams started camp yet? Well, whatever. No complaints. The first day back at the rink in September is always a good time.

Ran into Pittsburgh radio broadcaster Phil Bourque at the rink and he told me about a cause he’d been working with over the summer. I think it’s a story that more people should know about.

Jason Baird, a good player with Erie of the OHL and in the Central Hockey League, was working a summer job in landscaping (you don’t get rich playing in the CHL) when his lawnmower exploded last month, leaving him with severe burns. He’s got a wife and three kids and once the season ends, so does a CHL player’s health insurance. Here’s a Toronto Sun story about how the family is deadling with the accident. Here’s a Web site that has donation information.

As far as hockey goes today, the most accomplished player at this rookie camp is obviously Alex Goligoski. I talked to Goligoski after practice today about something we didn’t really get into in any detail last year at this time. He had shoulder surgery right after his junior season at Minnesota ended and his rehab was supposed to take six to eight months. He hit the six-month mark during NHL camp last season and wasn’t cleared for contact until exhibition games had started. The upper body work he could do in the weight room last summer was severely limited, and on top of that, he was worried about how his shoulder would hold up at a time when he didn’t need another thing to worry about — while he was taking part in his first NHL training camp.

My point in that whole rambling paragraph is this: Goligoski wasn’t bad out of the gate last season, but he should be even better this year. He’s eighth on the defense depth chart at this point, but if he has a big-time camp, it wouldn’t shock me if one of the top seven got moved to make room for him.

Now, if Goligoski is the most accomplished player at the rookie camp, Luca Caputi is the most intriguing because his ceiling is really high. Say Caputi comes in and has a Jordan Staal 2006 camp (i.e. awesome every time he steps on the ice). Tell me Pens brass wouldn’t be doing backflips about the idea of a homegrown power forward claiming a spot on Sidney Crosby’s wing. They’d love nothing more than that.

I’m not predicting Caputi’s going to start the season in the NHL or anything. I’m just saying his upside is very interesting.

As for my observations from the first day, I thought Dustin Jeffrey and Nick Johnson looked like they came to camp in NHL shape and looked more assertive in drills than most of the other forwards. I also thought Mark Letestu and J-M Daoust looked good around the net.

Those are just a couple of initial observations off the top of my head. I’ll try to pay more attention to some of the new kids over the next two days and have some more detailed thoughts over the weekend.

Meanwhile, this is, without a question, the strangest link you’ll click on this hockey season. It is a story from the English-language newspaper in Abu Dhabi about how study of the genetics of prairie rodents can predict how faithful a person will be to his spouse. And it includes a Dennis Bonvie reference. And I’m not making that up.

A winner of first-place honors in the blogging category of the 2012 Pennsylvania Associated Press Managing Editors awards, Penguins Insider was created to give local hockey fans an interactive, in-depth way to follow the team they so passionately support. The blog's author, beat writer Jonathan Bombulie, has been covering the team since its inception in 1999. Contact him at jbombulie@aol.com

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